COCHIN CHINA, LOWER. or FRENCH, a colonial possession of France in the southern extremity of the eastern portion of the Indo-Chinese peninsula. Lat. 9' 5' toll)* n.: long. 103° to 107° east. This territory was acquired after a war provoked by the continuous persecutions for many years of the Christians in his dominions by the king of Anam, and especially by the murder of several French and Spanish missionaries. After an invasion, the three provinces of Saigon, Bienhott. and Mytho, together with the island of Pulo Condor, and a few others which lie off the coast, were taken possession of in 1861. In 1867, a new treaty, formed after the repression of formidable hostile agges sions on the part of some of the natives, led to the annexation of other three provinces —Vinhlong, Chandor, and Haytien—thus completing the present colony of Cochinchine francaise. Area, 21,600 sq.m.; pop. '73, 1,326,867.
Napoleon III., in urging on the vigorous war policy which led to this acquisition, had in view the tradition that France had earlier claims to be satisfied, and other wrongs to be redressed, than those which induced him and the Spanish government to resolve on putting an end to the oriental monarch's persecuting cruelty. In 1787, Ghialong, king of Anam, in want of assistance to secure his throne, entered into a treaty with Louis XIV., by which he engaged, in return for French aid, to cede the town and harbor of Touran (Kwang-han), with its territory and two adjacent islands. The little active assistance afforded by France was effective; Ghialong was established on the throne, and added Tonquin and Cambodia to his dominions. The promises made to France were not fulfilled, but her missionaries were protected. Of the three kings, however, who successively mounted the throne after the death of Ghialong, each excelled his predecessor in persecuting the Christians, whether European or natives, and in murdering the missionaries. Tuduk, who began to reign in 1847, issued an order the same year that all missionaries should be drowned; and another in 1851, that whoever concealed a missionary should be cut in two and thrown into the river. From
the time of this latter decree, the blood of his victims never ceased to flow till the san guinary struggles which led to the establishment of the colony of lower C. C. frightened the blood-thirsty religionist into toleration. Cambodia, a level country fertilized by the Makiang, the climate of whose plains has been compared to that of Bengal. and formerly a sort of feudal dependency on Siam, has been declared independent under the protectorate of France. In June, 1864, the ruler of this country, formerly only a viceroy, was crowned in the presence of Siamese and French representatives at his capital, Houdon, assuming the name of Phra Norodon. He has accorded to France the right of form..ig a settlement on the Makiang or Cambodia river, at the point where its four arms unite before descending to the China sea.
Great exertions have been made by France to promote the prosperity of this colony, and to use its territorial influence in such a way as to acquire the good-will of the natives. National municipalities have becu preserved; the land-tax has been lowered; and the proportion of men demanded for military service has been greatly lessened from what it was under the native princes. In 1866. a decree was issued to regulate civil mar riages. Ardent hopes for the spread of Christianity are indulged in, on the ground that the natives are peculiarly open to its influences; and there has been talk of making Saigon a free port, to compete with Singapore. But that the colony pays its own expenses has not been made clear; and the French do acknowledge that their new sub jects arc neither industrious nor commercial. Although the resources of the country -are but imperfectly developed, rice is produced in considerable abundance; cotton, sugar, indigo, and tobacco are also cultivated. The dwarf mulberry grows freely; .silk-worms are reared with facility; hemp, the betel-nut, and the areca-nut are likewise grown.